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14 May 2010

Pray for...

Pray for the persecuted church in China. I was listening to a clip from yesterday's Wretched Radio wherein Todd Friel interviewed Scott Thunder from Bible League International. I found the brief interview interesting for various reasons as they discussed the persecuted church in China. From the Bible League International website:

If you were vacationing in China, you might be surprised to see Christians openly worshiping in churches without fear of punishment. You might be puzzled to learn that the government, infamous for its religious restrictions, recognizes 17 million Christians. You might even conclude that religious freedom exists in communist China. But you would be mistaken.

[...]

[T]he Chinese government is cracking down: Recently, the National People’s Congress launched a “Strike Hard” campaign against all “unauthorized” groups. That’s when they declared unregistered churches “illegal cults.” To enforce the campaign, Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers may at any time disrupt a house church, close it down, and arrest its leaders.

This confirms my suspicions (not that they really needed confirmation) that any compromise by Christians with the Chinese government should be given a second glance. Read this story of persecution by the government against a group of Christians worshiping at an underground, "unauthorized" church and then explain to me why we should ever assume that this communist nation would ever sympathize with the Christian mission.

1 comment:

I had the wonderful privilege of working with the under ground church in China a few years back. I went in twice. It looks like things have gotten better for the church, but that is a facade the Chinese wants one to believe. Outside major cities the persecution goes on and inside the cities as well, but there is an appearance of more freedom. I met and shard with some of the bravest people I have ever known and the happiest despite the persecution. A major prayer request of many is that the prison guards who tortured them, some for 10-15 + years, would come to know Jesus.

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